


Epilogue

by userpou



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Lots of Angst, Suicide mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:48:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28507701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/userpou/pseuds/userpou
Summary: "This place is not for you. You deserve a full, long life." She suppressed the tears that were starting to choke her up as they built up in her throat. "A long, long life that's filled with love, and happiness, and laughter." Her hand slowly travelled to his hair, fingers wrapping into his dark curls to gently caress them. Nick looked like he was falling apart at her words. "I love you," she whispered, as if he didn't know already. "I love you so much."___After being reunited in the Sweet Hereafter, Sabrina sends Nick back to the world of the living.
Relationships: Nicholas Scratch/Sabrina Spellman
Comments: 6
Kudos: 80





	Epilogue

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Sabrina stilled, and her breath got caught in her chest as she slowly turned around.

It was Nick - of course it was Nick. She would have recognised his voice anywhere. For a breathless moment, she let herself be engulfed by his dark eyes as he took her in, his face set in his usual little knowing smirk. Sabrina felt something wound open inside of her, and thoughts she had refused to delve into flood her mind.

"Nick," she breathed hoarsely as he took a few steps towards her and the stone bench she was sitting on. "What are you doing here? This room is only for..."

"I went swimming in the Sea of Sorrows." His smile deepened, and Sabrina felt her heart skip a beat. "Wicked undertow," he added, still smirking.

"Oh, Nick." He was already sitting next to her, looking at her like he always did: with this all-encompassing adoration that she was not sure she truly deserved. "No, no..."

"Hey." He took her hand and Sabrina let him, looking down at their intertwined fingers. "What's important is that we're together here. Forever and ever."

Sabrina's eyes travelled back to his and she paused to look at him. He was breathtakingly handsome, as always, looking like he belonged on a pedestal in a museum. The last she had seen of him, his face had been stricken with grief and worry, his beautiful black eyes swimming with emotion. Now he looked peaceful, more peaceful that he had ever been when alive.

 _When he had been alive._ The thought spread an unwelcome cold in her chest. "Nick," she said again, tightening her fingers around his. She saw him tense up and his eyes widen when she shook her head lightly. "You can't be here."

Sabrina watched as hurt flashed across his features, confusion bubbling in his eyes. "What? Sabrina, I..."

"Nick." She raised her free hand to his face and gently draped it across his jaw, her thumb caressing his sharp cheekbone. He looked so vulnerable suddenly, and so young. She wondered how many years had passed, if any, since her sacrifice. Time was a funny thing, in the Sweet Hereafter, and Sabrina felt her heart tighten at the thought of the loved ones she had left behind, and the grief she must have left in her wake. "You can't be here," she said again, ignoring the pain that spread through her body at the words.

Nick's fingers tightened even more around hers and she could feel his hand shaking slightly. He had always been confident and steady, strong - but the Nick she was faced with was not the one she had seen last. She still loved him all the same. That's why she couldn't let him stay.

His mouth opened and his lips started to form words that didn't come out. Sabrina waited patiently, stroking his cheek gently. "I don't want to be without you," he said, at last, voice trembling. His black eyes were searching her face, trying to find something that was not there. "I can't be without you," he corrected himself, and his voice broke then. Sabrina felt her heart tighten in her chest.

The unfairness of this situation dawned on her and she closed her eyes to compose her thoughts, to alleviate the pain she was feeling at the idea of sending away the man she loved so dearly. They had been through Hell and back together, quite literally, and she knew that there was nothing that he wouldn't do for her. She felt the same way, and that's why she had to let him go.

"This place is not for you. You deserve a full, long life." She suppressed the tears that were starting to choke her up as they built up in her throat. "A long, long life that's filled with love, and happiness, and laughter." Her hand slowly travelled to his hair, fingers wrapping into his dark curls to gently caress them. Nick looked like he was falling apart at her words. "I love you," she whispered, as if he didn't know already. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he answered immediately, taking her hand in both of his and bringing it to his mouth for him to kiss. "I love you so much, Sabrina, and I can't..." He cried then, an ugly sob that felt like breaking in half, and Sabrina's hand travelled to the back of his neck so that she could drag him against her chest and hold him.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, holding onto each other, Nick crying against her neck and her gently petting his hair and caressing his back as she spoke small words of comfort. Sabrina hadn't known before that love could be so heavy and painful, like a weight constricting her chest and slowly breaking her heart. She had gone through so much, and had had her heart broken before, but this was nothing like that.

When he stopped sobbing, Nick pulled away, drawing his hand across his face to wipe away his tears. "Wh-what am I supposed to do now?" he asked weakly, looking at her through his long eyelashes.

"Swim up to the surface," she smiled sadly, caressing his cheek before her hand landed on his shoulder. 

A strangled and wet chuckle escaped his throat and Nick shook his head. "No, I mean..." He didn't finish his sentence.

Sabrina sighed, letting her hand fall back to her lap. "Live," she said finally, and she felt her heart thump harder in her chest. "Remember that this is worth it - life is worth it. And, maybe, in many, many years, we'll find each other again here. We will read a million books and laze around in the endless sun, dance in the everlasting meadows and bathe in the eternal creeks and have no worry in the world. But for now, you've got to live."

Nick looked at her, his intelligent eyes reflecting the whirlpool of emotions inside. He was so beautiful, and Sabrina knew that she would miss him dearly, and that she would regret this moment. A selfish part of her wanted him to stay forever and ever here with her, but she knew that it would be unfair after everything that had happened to him. And the part of her that loved him more than anything else wouldn't let that happen.

He slowly raised a hand and pushed back a strand of moon-touched hair behind her ear. The contact of his fingertips on her cheekbone made her shiver but it made her smile too, his warmth welcome and familiar. "I don't want to be alone," he confessed in a hoarse voice. 

Sabrina forced herself to smile wider. Nicholas Scratch had never done well when faced with loneliness. "I know, Nick." She raised her hand to take his, and it was her turn to kiss his knuckles gently. "You won't be." She only let go of his hand to put her own on his neck, hooking her finger in the silver necklace she could see under his shirt. She drew out the twin pendant he had offered her, and opened it for him. "I'll always be with you, Nick. And I'll always love you."

His face was drenched with tears when she looked up again. He was looking at her desperatly, trying to etch into memory everything about her face, her eyes, her hair, the tiny freckles that he could see lining her cheekbones. "I'll always love you too." He was not sure what good could come from life without her. For her, he wanted to try. And maybe one day, in a very long time, they would be together again. "What now?"

Sabrina gently closed the pendant and put it back under his shirt, her hand flattening the fabric above his heart. "Kiss me," she demanded simply.

Nick looked at her for a moment. There she was, the girl he loved, confident and strong, who had given everything up for the survival of the world. Although he felt like his heart was breaking in two, Nick was grateful for it, too. She had taught him how to love, and now he would have to teach himself how to live. 

He took her face between his hands. "Thank you, Sabrina," he said, at last, and she only smiled when he leaned in and kissed her.

Her lips were soft and warm against his, as they always were, and Nick closed his eyes to enjoy their taste to the fullest. He felt a warmth build up in his chest, something that felt familiar and wrong at the same time. When he pulled away from Sabrina, he realised that he was leaving, fading away. Nick tried to fight it back desperately, unwilling to go, regret flooding his thoughts like a wave, but it was too late. 

He came back to his senses struggling for air, spitting out the acrid and salty water that had overtaken his lungs. Before he could realise what was going on, arms were thrown around him and he was dragged into a tight embrace. It took him a few seconds to realise that it was Prudence, and his eyes looked around the shore he had wounded up on and found Ambrose's undecipherable stare where he stood nearby.

"I thought we lost you," Prudence uttered as she pulled away, keeping him at arm's length and examining him. She was drenched, as was he, with the thick black water of the Sea of Sorrows. Her dark eyes were scanning his features and were jittery with concern despite herself. 

He stared back at her, trying to think of something to say. He remembered undressing on the shore and diving into the dark waters, he remembered how cold and suffocating it had felt, and then... and then...

He blinked, feeling freshly shed tears falling onto his cheeks. He opened his mouth to stay something, anything, but nothing came out. He looked down at his body. The pendant was resting against his chest and he grabbed it to open it, looking at Sabrina's picture wordlessly.

"Nick, are you okay?" Prudence whispered, her brows furrowing delicately when he looked up at her.

There was nothing he could say so Nick just started crying, embarrassed when she wrapped her arms around him, but thankful, too.

He was alive. And he would make it worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, the ending of the show was not it, chief. Nick deserved so much better, and that's my take on that. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
